Sunday, August 3, 2008

It's Here! Study with Me - Intro

Hello everyone!

Well by your comments and e-mails I don't know who is more happy about this you or I. I know the ones of you that have gotten your books and workbooks have read and done the intro and anyone else that would like to join we are doing a study using "Battlefield of the Mind" by Joyce Meyers.

So I'd like to start with a prayer;Father God as we start this study I ask that you watch over us lead us each in the way you want us to go. Reveal to us what areas of our mind and life that are not lining up with you and give us the strength and courage to change. In Jesus Name, Amen

The intro starts off giving Proverbs 23:7 "For as a man thinks in his heart so is he" (nkjv)* Take a few moments of honest reflection and ask yourself - What do I really think of myself?*What do I really think of my life?Write them down and cover them up, or fold the paper over. Now honestly reflect on what you say out loud about yourself and your life. Do you say things like "Oh I'm never prosperous", or 'I'll never have that", I'm not pretty, skinny, talented...... Joyce would call this "Stinking Thinking". Can you look in the mirror and look at your self and say I'm pretty or I love you? That is probably an exercise we could all work on. What we say about ourselves, is what is truly in our hearts. And what is in our hearts is what is in our minds.Maybe we should tuck that little piece of paper aside and as the study goes on see how our answers change.

Romans 8:5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live life according to the spirit, the things of the spirit. (nkjv)

Have you ever tried to quit something, or diet? As long as you keep thinking about not doing it, it's a struggle. But if you put your focus on God instead, it just happens. What we focus on becomes a mountain in our life. Good or Bad!

Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world. But be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God (nkjv)

For me I think a big part of our mind struggle has to do with the world we live in. A world that is flooded with sexual innuendos just to sell a product, even a hamburger and fry. As easy as it would seem to live Godly if we could lock ourselves away and not see anybody else, that is not what God called us here for. That is why we need to line our thoughts up with Gods and get strong , because there is a war zone out there and yes the Battlefield is in our minds.

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. (njkv)This is a real hunk of meat to grab and if it is not clear now it will become more and more alive to you as we go on! What you will find out is that Satan can not physically touch or harm you. "of our Warfare are not carnal" carnal means flesh. What he does is attack your thoughts. A stronghold is an area that the devil has taken a little piece of truth and added to it and built it up so big in your life that now its a stumbling block to your victory. We will in Jesus name break down these strongholds and learn to live in the fullness God has promised us.

One of my favorite scriptures is John 10:10 the thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly.

Here are some things to think about. You don't need to answer them to me if you don't want to but I do want you to think about them.* Do you know of any Strongholds in your life?*What are they?* What lies does Satan use to build them?Now try to break that apart, since we know that Satan uses a little piece of the truth to make it believable.*What is the little piece of truth?*What is the lie?I'll give you an example: The truth is I need to lose some weight. The lie would be "your fat, you've tried dieting it didn't work, you will always be fat". Once you break out the lie it loses its power.

It's only the intro and I can see God doing so much. I haven't set up a "Mr Linky" as I said before, so you can comment here if you want, you can do a post on your blog or if you want to share something private you can e-mail me. Please at least let me know you've been here, I will somewhat gauge how fast we move on by how much time I think you will need.

Father I thank you for the work you are doing here. I ask that you help each of us as we do this study to breakdown strongholds and free our minds. In Jesus name, Amen

13 comments:

I do have to disagree with you on one point you made. "What you will find out is that Satan can not physically touch or harm you." This is the only place that he has to attack us. When Jesus was in the desert, satan attacked with the physical, and Jesus responded with the spiritual. Job, satan was allowed to take everything from Job, and to give him boils all over his body. Eph says that we war not with flesh ad blood, but with powers and principlities...satan uses the physical to effect us spiritually.

The list of the way I see myself is long and not pretty..I love Isaiah 61:3 To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit fo heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.

If I will let Him, and bring my thoughts in line with His, He will make me a tree of righteousness, that glorifies Him.

One of the lies that I am beleiving is that I will always struggle because of my choices. The truth in this is that I do make choices that are not in line with God's will. The lie is that I will always make these choices.

God has shown me over and over, that where the mind goes the behind follows.

Two big truths I got out of the intro were:"The mind is the leader or foreruner of all actions.""Our actions are a direct result of our thoughts."

Gen 2:15 The the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. Strongs says tend means to work and keep means to guard. We are to work and guard our minds the same as Adam and Eve worked and guarded the Garden of Eden.

Lynn:One of the strongholds fear of being "genuine" and "real with others.The Lie of the enemy...if others see you for who you really are they will reject you, use it to harm you,expose you as an empty vessel, make it something that it is not...The truth yeah there is some ugly stuff inside me...but that is not all there is...but that is where my focus is right now...though I know a solution would be to take my eyes off of self and place them fully on Jesus...I remain self focused...This is recent revelation for me so I am beginning to make deliberate attempts to be Christ focused rather than self-focused...I know what to do...it's the doing...I also struggle with the choices I have made...we are currently in the situation we are in financially because of past actions/non-actions...I do know that while the Lord may not take us out of our circumstances or improve our circumstances -He will be with us through it all- He will never leave us or forsake us...It is also a Faith issue...I just read what the Lord has said- For as a man thinks in his heart so is he...that we are to renew our mind by the washing of the word...Am I going to let the word be life to me or not? I like what sallye said about tending and guarding...we are to be active not passive...thank you Lynn...I am believing for a breakthrough..I am beginning to think that by the time we are through with this study I will truly know the taste of freedom that is through Christ alone.In His Love,Debrah

I think this is the biggest lie of all that satan tells us, and we believe lock stock and barrel, that if others saw the "real" us that they would reject us or expose us for a fraud. I know that I fight it too. Praying for you,Sallye

Sallye,Good point you are so right that Satan brought things against Job physically. But before the physical things came Job had thoughts. Job 3:25-26 What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me. 26 I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil."2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.So it's showing that if Job "Feared" he was not of sound mind. Isaiah 54:17 No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the LORD.

Yes Satan can come against us because we live in this world, but he can not over take us unless we give him the right to with our mouths and our thougts. The reason the devil was able to overtake Job was because he was in fear about things overtaking him. God says life and Death are in the power of the tongue. Proverbs 18:21 Job had a hedge of protection around him, but he got out of it.Psalm 911 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” 3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowlerAnd from the perilous pestilence. 4 He shall cover you with His feathers,And under His wings you shall take refuge;His truth shall be your shield and buckler. 5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day, 6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. 7 A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you. 8 Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked. 9 Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place, 10 No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; 11 For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. 12 In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone. 13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot. 14“Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. 15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. 16 With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.”

God will allow anything you allow in your life. The whole point here is Everything STARTS with a thought. Then we meditate on it, then we act on it and then we speak it into exsistance. That is how we go born again is we hear it, we receive it, we think on it, then we allow or disallow it.

Thanks for your comments and insight and I hope I've cleared up the confussion of my point I was trying to make.Be Blessed,Lynn

Debrah Yes I think all of us struggle with being exposed. I too have dealt with a lot of fear in that area. I also know it is hardest in your own home town to speak. (the people that know your past) I too pray that each of us will grow in this study and be able to accept who we are in Christ and in the flesh. What we have done is not who we are. Yes sometimes we are in situations because of what we have done, but God can and will deliver us from that, even though in the natural we may still have to pay the penalties of our actions. I know someone that was doing drugs and had ran up a lot of bills and burnt a lot bridges. When they repented God gave them favor and forgiveness. They were accepted and able to buy a house and a car. However, because of what they had done they still had to pay the debts they had incurred and rebuild the relationships they had destroyed. I do have to say that because of the favor that God gave them it happened much easier and faster that it would have otherwise.Thanks for your open heart. I pray we all will shed our protective coats. Kinda like an M & M when we're done well get to the creamy chocolate. :)Be Blessed.Lynn

Lynn,Great comments here! I will be following along with you on the study. It's been so crazy for me this past week that I haven't had a chance to get the book and study guide. Hopefully, I can make my way down to the bookstore at the beach (for better selection) to find the books I need.

So here are my answers to the questions Lynn posted (and Debrah, some are similar to your's):

*Do you know of any Strongholds in your life?yes

*What are they?I fear witnessing to others about God (fear of rejection and hardship… “Look at what happened to the early Christians!” this of course is Satan’s lie and I convince myself that I couldn’t go through all that!)I fear close intimacy with others, wrongly feeling I am not worth knowing that well, that if I let people really see me, they won’t want to know me.I shy away from certain tasks or projects I see as being too difficult

* What lies does Satan use to build them?I am not good enough… This applies in so many areas; in my work, in my home life, in my hobbies

Now try to break that apart, since we know that Satan uses a little piece of the truth to make it believable.*What is the little piece of truth?I am not perfect, I make mistakes. Sometimes I am judged by others whose esteem I would like to have.

*What is the lie?I can never be good enough. I can never learn to do new things. What others may say is the only truth. God isn’t there to help me overcome the obstacles.

As for the discussion on whether Satan can attack the body or the spirit, I think he attacks the spirit first and then the body when our defenses are down. I am comforted to know that we are "sealed (with the Holy Spirit) until the day of redemtion" (Eph 4:30). What is the seal?- It is the mark that sets us apart (how we are known)- It is the sign of God's approval- It is the sign of God's ownership (we are His)- It closes us (seals us off) from evil influences. It is the seal for security, like when Pilat sealed the tomb where the body of Christ lay.

Now that doesn't mean that Satan can't attack our mind or our spirit, but it does mean he doesn't have access to them (he can't read them,he can't possess them, he doesn't know what we will think or what we will do). If we have faith in the seal and if we allow it to work as it should, we will be able to resist all temptation and evil thoughts. When we forget that we are sealed with the Holy Spirit, and allow our thoughts to run counter to those of God, we "grieve the Holy Spirit" (Eph. 4:30).

Here is a brief excerpt from a commentary on this topic (Green Baggins - March 1, 2008):

"So, the “letter” of our body is sealed by the Holy Spirit. No one can mess with it. When the Day of Redemption comes, then all those letters will be opened, and we will receive the redemption of our bodies. The Holy Spirit has accomplished all of this.

That is why we are incredibly ungrateful if we grieve the Holy Spirit. The reason Paul tells us what the Holy Spirit does for us is so that we will realize just how much the Holy Spirit (Who is a person, by the way, not a thing) loves us, and also that we will realize how much He has done for us, that we might live lives of gratitude, not ingratitude. If you have been sealed until the day of redemption, then there should be no reason whatsoever to grieve the Holy Spirit.

We are also to look at what the Holy Spirit has done for us and say, “How can I grieve the Holy Spirit? Look at what He has done for me!” The Holy Spirit tells me by His sealing me that I am a child of the King. I had better act like a child of the King!"

Sorry this was such a long post! Thanks for this study. The introduction packed a punch! I am looking forward to the rest!

This is so great! All of you have brought us such good points and clarifications of what it all means. This was only the intro and look at all we have been able to bring out so far. Thank you Sallye for your points on how Satan can get at us physically, Debra for your openness and Karen great insight on the seal. So Ladies do you want a couple of days to let it sink in? How soon do you want to tackle the 1st Chapter? Let me know.Blessings, Lynn

Wow, I just had time to really sit down and ponder what has been said by all. Like Lynn, I love the part about the seal and grieving the Holy Spirit. I know that to often I go about my business, not thinking of the effect of my choices has on the Holy Spirit. Thank you for the insight and things to ponder.

All,Please pray for the hindrances to my getting a book be lifted. Once again, I was not able to make my way to the bookstore to get the book. It seems like every time I think I can go, something happens and I cannot. I'll keep trying.

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About Me

I'm married to my best friend and a wonderful man of God. We have a blended family with 3 grown Children, 5 Grandchildren, and 2 Great Grandsons. God changed my life and helped me blossom. He shows me daily who He wants me to be. This is a place I can record my accomplishments and reflect on the revelations, truths and growths that God is doing in my life.